Wildflower Hike

Last Friday, I hiked the Acorn Creek Trail near Silverthorne, Colorado, with my Women With Altitude group. We experience a profusion of gorgeous wildflowers that had us ooohing and aaahing throughout the hike. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera along with me, but I tried to take some photos with my cell phone. The pictures didn't do the flowers justice, but here's a sampling anyway:

Blue columbine (Colorado state flower) and pink wild roses.

Chiming bells in front of aspens and resting hikers.

The mountain view across the valley on our way back to the trailhead.

A red profusions of scarlet gilia, also called fairy trumpet.

Action Shots from the Summit County Senior Winter Games

On February 22nd, I blogged about participating in the Summit County Senior Winter Games. Tim Orwick, the event photographer, recently made available to the participants all the action shots he took of us during the games. I selected three to share with my blog readers. The first photo below is of me in the giant slalom race that occurred during a snowstorm, which is why I have my hood up.

The photo below is of me running the obstacle course.

And below is the start of the short snowshoe race. I'm fifth from the right, wearing bib number 11 and a white and light blue hat. As you can see, I was second out of the starting gate.

Summit County Senior Winter Games

As those of you know who follow me on Facebook, I competed in four events of the Summit County 2013 50+ Open Winter Games. The Games offered many different kinds of winter sports events, including figure and speed skating, hockey puck shoot, nordic and alpine skiing, snowball throw, snowshoeing and a biathalon. I entered three alpine skiing events, the Giant Slalom, Rally Race (where you try to match a time), and the Obstacle Course, and I entered the Short Snowshoe Race (about 1 km). The photo below is of me primed for the snowshoe race.

The medal count for the Summit County Senior Winter Games is sky high, because they award gold, silver, and bronze for each event for men and women separately for every 5-year age group. It's like kindergarten! Anyway, I earned a medal in every event I entered. Gold for the Short Snowshoe Race, where I was the fastest woman OVERALL, silver for the Giant Slalom and Rally Race and bronze for the Obstacle Course (got to work on my backward skiing speed). The award ceremony/party was a lot of fun. The photo below is of me and my husband with our medals.

I will admit that I was also the youngest woman in the short snowshoe race. But there are some really athletic seniors in their 70s here that I huff and puff to keep up with on my summer hikes and winter snowshoe excursions. The oldest woman competing in the games is 86, and the only woman in her age category (85 - 89). She entered LOTS of events, and her neck was weighed down with gold medals by the end of the award ceremony. Gals like her are my role models! 

Snowshoeing on the Ptarmigan Trail

On Monday this week, I went snowshoeing with the "Snowshoe Hares" group from the Summit County Senior Center on the Ptarmigan Trail near Silverthorne, Colorado. We hiked to the lookout that provides a breathtaking view of Lake Dillon, the Gore Range and the valley below. We made our way through aspen and pine forests, over frozen creeks and fallen logs, and past animal tracks and evidence of elk bedding down overnight near the trail. The total distance was just over 4 miles, with an almost 1000' altitude gain. Quite a workout!

The photos below were taken by my husband, starting with one of me, then of me with the rest of the group.

The photos below were taken at the overlook, starting with three scenic shots, then one of three of us sitting on a log and eating lunch, then one of my husband and me before we started the trek back to the parking lot. As you can see, it was gorgeous day!